Jarrod Parker To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

2:49pm: Athletics assistant GM David Forst tells reporters, including MLB.com's Jane Lee, that Kazmir's injury is very minor, and he could have pitched today (Twitter link). Slusser tweets that Kazmir may even start tomorrow.

Forst also adds that the team has no plans to look outside the organization to acquire additional pitching depth (Joe Stiglich of Comcast SportsNet reporting via Twitter).

2:38pm: The Athletics have announced, via Twitter, that right-hander Jarrod Parker will undergo Tommy John surgery for the second time in his career next week.

It's a big blow for the defending AL West champions, and though the team has more pitching depth than most clubs, they also shut right-hander A.J. Griffin down for three weeks over the weekend and will likely be without him for at least the first month of the season, per the San Francisco Chronicle's Susan Slusser (on Twitter). Beyond that, offseason signee Scott Kazmir was scratched from today's Spring Training start due to triceps stiffness.

With Parker and Griffin on the shelf, the A's would figure to open the season with Kazmir (if his triceps injury is minor), Sonny Gray, Dan Straily, Tommy Milone and one of Drew Pomeranz, Jesse Chavez or Josh Lindblom in the rotation (Slusser earlier tweeted that it would likely be Chavez). Obviously, that's a considerably weaker group than it would be with a healthy Parker and Griffin in the mix, and it's fair to wonder if the A's will pursue a trade to add further depth — perhaps an out-of-options starter from another club.

Parker, 25, has given the A's 378 1/3 innings of 3.73 ERA ball with 6.5 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 over the past two seasons, helping the club to a pair of AL West division titles. Oakland originally acquired him from the Diamondbacks along with Ryan Cook and Collin Cowgill in the trade that sent Trevor Cahill and Craig Breslow to Arizona. His first Tommy John surgery came back in October 2009 when he was still in the Diamondbacks organization.

It’s the throwing motion. There’s a documentary from the ’90’s featuring former Dodger relief horse/closer Mike Marshall (pitched 106 games one year) where he discusses this very problem. MLB did not want to hear it.

Also, with all of these second TJs happening around the same time, it makes me wonder. I know there are multiple ways to perform a TJ, and some of those ways were very recently developed, could it be that the new method has a major flaw? It would be interesting to see a spreadsheet of who had which version of the surgery and who was the surgeon.

I have never seen this meany Pitchers need 2nd TJ surgeries in my life. Plus the amount of players every year that need the first one, its getting ridiculous. I think it’s time to find a new way to do the surgery, or find a new surgery. We also need to look at everything pitches do and find out what is hurting the elbow the most and change it.

Hudson, Luebke, Venters, Medlen, Beachy, and now Turner and Weiland (likely) are all going for their second round of TJ. After years where it seemed like a second TJ was rarely necessary, this latest wave of young starters going under the knife a second time has me very worried about Harvey.

I read a while back that a typically TJ is effective for 4-5 years. I could be off in the range of years but I found it interesting. I would now love to find this article in light of the rash of second TJ candidates.

Everyone in the West is looking at shaky pitching situations. No question the Texas lineup was weak last year. that’s why they replaced guys like AJ and David Murphy, with guys like Choo and Fielder. I also believe that Profar is going to step up to be a more than adequate 2B who approaches Kinsler’s production from last year. And the Rangers pitching depth is again underrated, like it has been the past 3-4 years.

I was expecting this last year because of his overuse in 2012 after it being his first full year back from Tommy John surgery, but, after a rough start, he was pretty good, though he had a telltale dip in velocity, sitting at 91-92 instead of 95 most of the year. I really think this could have been avoided by shutting Parker down early that year, despite the probable consequences to their playoff hopes.

Depending on the lower prospect (not sure if you mean lower level or a worse prospect), A’s would jump on that in a second. That’s not very fair value for the Marlins. Allioti isn’t a very good prospect who’s crunched in the depth charts between Moss and Muncy

The Mariners have no experience whatsoever after Felix and Iwakuma. The Rangers only have one solid starter in their entire rotation (Darvish) where you know exactly what you’re getting every time out there. Martin Perez is the Rangers’ #2 starter, and Tepesch is their 5th starter. The A’s are the only team in the AL West — possibly in all of MLB — that actually had true starting rotation depth: #6 and #7 starters pushed out who would be 3’s and 4’s on most other teams. I’d say it’s a toss up between the Angels and Rangers, with the A’s having the best rotation, and the Mariners’ rotation clearly way back, but still ahead of the Astros.

I’m an Angels fan but come on, be realistic. If Darvish is your standard for “solid” the Angels don’t have a single solid pitcher, Darvish is one of the top five pitchers in the league. Perez and Ogando are solid and better than Skaggs, Santiago and Richards. Even Tepesch has more experience than Skaggs and more upside than Santiago and Richards.

Honestly, what do the A’s currently have that puts them in such elite status?

Kazmir is a risk after one solid year back. Gray looked impressive in the postseason but what has he proven? Parker is gone. Griffin seems to be a product of the O. Straily, I see a decent back of the rotation guy but nothing special. You go on to the Chavez, Lindblom, Pomeranz trio. That group is no better than what Texas would use. In fact Lindblom was awful. I did forget Milone but his splits, which I think your usually interested in, are horrific. I have no doubt Oaklnad typically churns out stud pitchers but I’m not about to anoint them the best of four.

Tepesch is going to start the season in the minors anyway. I wish the Rangers would give Robbie “Rick” Ross a chance to start- he could be good. He was a starter in the minors, and a middle relief pitcher is much easier to find than a solid starter

I am being realistic. Darvish is the only sure-thing in the Rangers’ rotation right now. Perez himself still has to prove he can cut it through a full major league season, and Ogando has his lapses where he’s effective for a period of time, and then can’t find his form for another period of time.

If Tepesch has more upside than Richards and Santiago then why was he sent to the minors today at age 25? Richards has been on the big club permanently since 2012 (when he was 24) even when the Angels had a much deeper rotation. Santiago pitched a (good) full season in the majors last season at age 25. Tepesch is a little old to be getting that kind of praise when he just got sent down again.

It’s not about the hype of prospects/young major leaguers, it’s about whether or not they actually succeed at the major league level regardless. Mike Napoli can back that up ten-fold. And so far Richards and Santiago have Tepesch beat by more than just a nose.

But no matter the case, there are big questions all around the AL West when it comes to starting pitching. It’s going to be free-for-all, and an exciting race.

The Rangers rotation will be alright. If they remain healthy, and become healthy, a rotation of Darvish, Holland, Harrison, Ogando and Perez is more than serviceable. Telling a Rangers fan what it’s like having a bad rotation is pointless. We have seen plenty of the over the years.

Tepesch will being in AAA and will likely see plenty of time as a #5 or simply a spot starter. Ross will be in the bp where he is needed. Guys like Hanson and Saunders will be asked to keep the damage limited and hope the Rangers get 12 that day. Darvish, Perez, Harrison, Ogando, Lewis/Saunders/Hanson can figure out the rest. I can’t name many teams with more than a solid 1-3 on opening day. And whomever said Chavez and Pomeranz would be starters somewhere else needs to reconsider that. Lindblom by the way is close to being in the rotation and he has been terrible.

You might find it astonishing that a die hard Angels fan like myself would give the A’s such high praise, but I have a lot of respect for the A’s and the way they’ve been able to develop winning teams with long term success in spurts (from within) throughout their history.